The “boondoggle” could be no more.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill proposed terminating New Jersey’s controversial $48 million-a-year mental health initiative known as NJ4S — slammed as a “boondoggle” by one former educator — as part of the record $60.7 billion budget proposal she unveiled Tuesday.
The New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services initiative launched in September 2023 as then-Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature youth mental health measure. But it is a flawed and wasteful effort buoyed by taxpayer dollars, a three-month NJ.com investigation revealed last September.
Despite good intentions, the program was deemed an “utter failure” by a slew of school officials and mental health experts who criticized its design and implementation.
And it appears Sherrill agrees.
“We know the current model of care has not been good enough for our kids,” she said in her first state budget address Tuesday afternoon at the Statehouse in Trenton.
“So this budget sunsets it, and brings specialized, intensive mental health support back into schools, with a new program called ‘SPARK,’ that meets students in their own environments,” continued Sherrill, who won last year’s election to succeed term-limited Murphy, a fellow Democrat.
SPARK — School-based Partnerships for Access and Resilience for Kids — will cost $33 million per year, according to budget documents.
But the phasing out of NJ4S is not yet official.
Sherrill and state lawmakers will now begin negotiating a final budget, which is due June 30.
NJ4S relied on a “hub and spoke” model, in which outside agencies — health care groups, nonprofits and religious entities — were contracted to run the 15 designated regions across the state.
The agencies provided mental health services to students, their families and school faculty at the “spokes” — schools, libraries and through virtual programs.
Among its failures: an abundance of questionable prevention services; fluctuating quality between regional hubs; superficial services for kids younger than sixth grade; and a flawed structure that relies on outsiders with no relationships in schools.
Most critically, however, was the lack of therapists, the very clinicians school and program officials say vulnerable kids actually need. Some students languished on waiting lists for therapy.
NJ4S provides services through the state Department of Children and Families. But SPARK will work through the state Department of Education, according to budget documents.
Its grants will support districts in expanding or building partnerships with licensed mental health providers to increase intervention services and access to school-based counseling. The new initiative will prioritize high-need districts and require measurable performance benchmarks.
And it will work within the schools themselves — which NJ4S critics emphasized is crucial for the success of a mental health program.
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“The initiative will establish clear pathways for students with high-acuity behavioral health needs and meet students where they are — directly in their schools — ensuring timely access to supports in a familiar and trusted environment,” according to the documents.
Betsy Ginsburg, the executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, said the decision doesn’t come as a surprise.
“The changes were not unexpected,” said Ginsburg, whose organization represents nearly 100 districts. “While NJ4S was a well-intentioned initiative, NJ SPARK moves the state towards a new model that is intended to meet students where they live and help schools partner with mental health providers to provide services more quickly and effectively.”
Critics of NJ4S applauded its potential dissolution.
Tony Trongone, a former Millville superintendent who now works for Great Schools of New Jersey, an education association, said he was pleased that SPARK will exist within the schools. He was an outspoken critic of NJ4S and served on the state’s advisory board for it.
“I felt bad because I always want to be positive and I want to be an advocate for people that want to help, so I do think there was good intent,” he told NJ.com. “There was just a flawed implementation plan.”
A spokesman for the state Department of Children and Families did not respond to a request for comment. The state Department of Education also did not return a request for comment.
David Aderhold, the superintendent of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, also praised the change in structure.
“By bringing specialized counseling directly into the school environment, the program meets students with complex behavioral needs where they are,” he said. “We welcome this focus on collaboration and high-level care as we look forward to more details.”
But not everyone was celebrating.
An executive of the organization that provides NJ4S services to the hubs in Morris and Sussex counties called the proposed elimination “a real kick in the teeth” to students and families in the two hubs.
“We are disappointed and discouraged,” Robert N. Davison, the chief executive officer of the Mental Health Association, told NJ.com. “Having the rug pulled out from under us like this, with no prior warning feels like a betrayal.”
“Despite this recent turn of events, we look forward to working with the state for the benefit of children’s mental health everywhere,” he added.
NJ.com staff writer Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.
